


Point of Contention

by beadedslipper



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Digg and Felicity hug it out, F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-25
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-26 22:50:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2669324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beadedslipper/pseuds/beadedslipper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Diggle told Felicity to stop upsetting Oliver by going to dinner with Ray.  Felicity told Diggle that if Oliver was bothered he should say so himself.  And that’s that.  But neither of them has really let it go.  Spoilers for 3x07.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Point of Contention

**Author's Note:**

> So, apparently more than a few things got to me about 3x07. I heard where Digg was coming from when he talked to Felicity at QC, but I thought he was being really unfair to her. Hence, this little number. Just an aside between Digg and Felicity.

Felicity can feel John’s judgmental eyes on her while she sits at her computers in the lair.  They’re practically burning a hole in her skull.  It’s only the two of them right now, Oliver having left with Roy twenty minutes ago to run a routine patrol.

He hasn’t said anything but, since they left, John’s focus has been decisively, and disapprovingly, on her.  She knows his stance on her and Ray, understands it even, but that doesn’t mean she agrees.  But Felicity, unlike Oliver, has never been one to let the elephant in the room go unacknowledged.  She tries, really tries, very gallantly in her opinion, but with every passing minute the feeling of eyes on her makes her twitch just a little bit more.

Finally the dam breaks and she whirls in her ergonomically designed, ultra-comfortable, special-order chair, jabbing a finger to mute the coms as she spins.  She pins John with a glare.

“Enough!” She exclaims.  “You’ve made your points and I’ve made mine.  Neither of us is backing down so stop  _staring_  at me like I shot your puppy.”

John sighs, heavy and deprecatingly, in that older-brother way that’s normally endearing but, right now, is just maddening.  She’s a grown woman for goodness sake.  She does not appreciate being patronized.

“Felicity, you’ve gotta stop this.  This thing you’re doing, with Palmer, it’s putting Oliver off his game.  It’s putting him in  _danger_.”

Felicity knows this.  Knows her new job with Ray, in the same building, in the same office, is a little too close to just starting over with a different billionaire for comfort, but what she said to Ray the night she accepted the job was true.  She wants more out of life.  Has wanted more for a long time.  Now she’s just tired of waiting for it.  Felicity has put others first her whole life.  The only thing she has ever done for herself is go to MIT and get out of Vegas.  So, yes, maybe accepting a job from the man that stole her friend’s company is a little…less than tactful, but Felicity thinks she’s probably owed some selfishness.

And, more importantly, Felicity is Oliver’s friend.  Not his girlfriend, not his lover, not his safety net or security blanket.  Just his friend.  And that was his choice.  Which left her with a choice of her own to make.  Stay here, in this cave, with him, pining and pathetic and waiting for the day he dies.  Or.  Move on.  Find a life.  One that’s hers.

Felicity is done pining.

“No, John, you’ve got to stop this.  I know you’re concerned about Oliver.  As his friend I am too.  But I am not responsible for Oliver Queen’s emotional health.  I am not a robot and I won’t put my life on hold just because it hurts Oliver’s feelings.  I’m hurt too.” Her voice breaks on that and she breathes in deep through her nose.

“I’ve waited John.  I’ve waited and I’ve hoped and I’ve told myself, well, maybe next time….more times than I can count.  But I can’t live my life worrying how it might hurt Oliver.  I want things to be different but I can’t just keep  _waiting_  for Oliver to be ready or stable or whatever Oliver needs to be.  If he’s unhappy, he knows what he needs to do to change it.  But I’m done waiting around for that someday because, at this rate, it’s never going to come.”

By then end of her little speech, surprisingly ramble-free, her hands are banded protectively around her waist and her shoulders are hunched around her ears like she expects a scolding.

John is quiet for a long minute, arms braced on his splayed knees and a thoughtful expression on his face.  He sighs deeply, pushing himself to his feet and walking towards her.  Her eyes track him warily, not sure what to expect.

She jumps, just a little, when a heavy hand comes to rest on her shoulder.

“You’re right Felicity.” Her eyebrows just about hit the roof she is so surprised.

“Excuse me?”

John smirks sardonically.  “You’re right.  I owe you an apology.  I’ve been so focused on what Oliver needs that I’ve completely ignored you in all of this.  It must’ve been hard for you, to finally have Oliver saying yes only to turn around and say no again.  I’m sorry.”

She blinks rapidly, trying to hold off tears.  She hasn’t had anyone to talk to about this and, as evidenced by her somewhat petty jabs at Oliver (she’s not proud), it’s been hard.  Really hard.  She reaches up and squeezes John’s hand on her shoulder, her aquamarine nails stark against his skin.

“Thanks.” She murmurs.

He stays there for a minute and she can sense there’s more he wants to say.  He tries.

“I just wish…”

“I know.”  And boy does she.  She wishes that things could be different.  That Oliver wasn’t so scared.  That their lives weren’t so complicated, dangerous, insert impossible adjective here.  She huffs a laugh.  “You and me both.”

They sit, quiet and both lost in thoughts of ‘if only’ and wait for their wayward hero to return.


End file.
